Today I am filling the pulpit for my friend.
There is something special about going to another place where the people believe the same book, love the same Savior, follow the same Spirit, worship the same God, seek to help people and serve with gladness.
I like my friends.
I love the week of thanksgiving.
Thursday with the family and Sunday at church, but in between are Friday and Saturday in which we intentionally plan nothing to do.
I found myself yesterday wondering if I should be doing something. Almost bored. It’s good for me to feel bored. I tend to run wide open 24/7. Even when relaxing, I’m reading, writing or planning.
I truly believe that only boring people really get bored. but planned boredom is good for us all.
I don’t watch the news.
I hear about some major events here and there because of the way our society is saturated with those who like to spread bad news, but I never seek it out.
People always ask me, “How do you stay informed?” The way I see it, I stay informed about what I believe to be important, not what others think I should know.
I would rather determine what “news” should concern me instead of George Stephanopoulos. I see headlines on facebook that are supposed to alarm me. The funny thing is that the headlines have become so desperate in trying to get me to click (“You won’t believe what Barack Obama has done now!”) that It drives me away instead of draws me in.
This morning as I was browsing my facebook feed, I saw something I liked. My friends, who are usually all up in arms about beheadings, conservatives, ebola, liberals or Ferguson, were sharing things for which they were thankful. There were pictures of their families together expressing joy and love.
Maybe this time they will enjoy being happy over angry and scared.
Maybe they will wake up to how they are being manipulated by a media machine.
Yesterday, we said that we get into trouble when our hands end up where they don’t belong.
So, how do we keep our hands from where they don’t belong?
We keep our mind focused on what is appropriate.
All sin is the result of improper thinking.
It is improper thinking to believe that you have the right to burn a business down because you believe a court decision was inaccurate.
It is improper thinking to believe that other people are responsible for your upkeep and you have no personal responsibility.
It is improper thinking to believe that you have the right to earn money by taking advantage of other people.
II Corinthians 10:5: Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ;
I’ve been hearing about a lot of people getting themselves into hot water lately. In every case, it had to do with misbehaving with their hands.
One young man received fifteen years in prison for touching someone underage.
One man ended up losing a career because he put his hands on women.
If Michael Brown had kept his hands to himself, he wouldn’t have been shot.
Uzzah reached out and touched the Ark of the Covenant and died.
Judas reached out and accepted thirty pieces of silver in betrayal.
If you can keep your hands to yourself, you will avoid much trouble.
Children are trusting, happy, filled with laughter, dreamers, easy to get over their hurts, blunt, truthful, unafraid to be themselves, imaginative, empty of worry, active, generous, unhurried, affectionate, helpful and inclusive.
Matthew 18:3: And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
I was in a McDonald’s today and noticed a sign posted, “No Loitering – 30 minute time limit to consume food.” There were actually three of them.
Obviously this was written by the legal department and not marketing. A marketer would have said, “We really appreciate you making McDonald’s one of your favorite places to eat. You are welcome to stay and enjoy our dining room as long as you’d like. If you happen to notice others waiting for seating and you have completed your meal, please help us to care for all of our customers by making that seat available to them. Then come back and see us again soon.”
An empty establishment is not good for business. A full establishment is great for business.
I’m pretty sure I can sit at Barnes and Noble and read books all day for free and they would never kick me out.
“Consume food”, what a joke.
Last week, the Nashville Predators were playing the Maple Leafs in Toronto.
In the NHL, whenever a Canadian team is playing an American team, both national anthems are sung.
During the singing of the US anthem, the singers microphone stopped working. Without missing a beat, the largely Canadian crowd broke into song, finishing the anthem for the soloist.
A hat tip to the citizens of Toronto for great sportsmanship. We are allies after all and it is only a game.
In the end, one teams ability to defeat another mostly lies in the amount of money one local owner spent on players versus the amount of money another local owner spent on players.
Bill Cosby is under fire. Allegations of sexual assault are being made by over fifteen women at last count.
The ABC program 20/20 did a small segment on the matter. At the conclusion, they encouraged people to tweet their opinion on the matter. To me, this is becoming a problem of great enormity.
We are under a continual deluge of stories like this and the procedure is always the same. First the story comes to light. Then the accused is attacked and slandered incessantly. Next, the public is encouraged to share their thoughts on the matter without knowing any facts. Yes, they know what they are being told on television, but do not know the facts. The news media does a very poor job of reporting truth. I have been interviewed personally by newspaper and television reporters and then read the article only to wonder who it was they were talking about.
The scariest part of all is next. A discussion begins as to whether or not the grand jury will rule justly or to appease the rioting masses. If that is a question we have to ask, we are in trouble.
The only truth to this story is that millions of people talking about it do not know the truth, any truth. Yet, we are ready to assign guilt or innocence.
I do not know Bill Cosby. I have watched his tv shows from Fat Albert all the way to the short lived, “Cosby.” I have seen him perform in person once. I do not know him.
I must not presume to know he is guilty or innocent. It is not my place to have an opinion.
Maybe every accusation is true. Maybe every accusation is a lie. We do not know nor is it our place to have an opinion.
The saying has always been, “You have a right to your opinion.” But do we have a right to have an opinion about everything? Especially if that opinion is so hostile that we riot if the rule of law does not agree.
I’ve seen the photos of Buffalo, New York.
The amount of snow they received in such a short time halted the city.
It’s humorous to consider that something as little, frail and insignificant as a snowflake could cause a city to be in a state of emergency.
It wasn’t a single snowflake, but the combination of millions that stopped everything in its tracks.
What could happen if God’s people came together as a church? What if everyone banded together for a common cause?
Everyone together makes a far greater impact than the individual.
Joel Stiff's Adventure 